The competition started. Without the slightest hesitation, Fu Huaizhi drew his sword and lunged at Lu Chukong.
Even at such a moment, Lu Chukong still wore a nonchalant, smiling expression. His dodges seemed casual.
Zhao Zhao observed Lu Chukong on the stage. He gave her a very contradictory feeling.
She couldn't quite put her finger on it. It was as if the strength he used to block the attacks when he couldn't dodge in time wasn't his own, but borrowed from somewhere else.
From her observations, Lu Chukong's body was completely unsuitable for cultivation. He probably couldn't even withstand the spiritual power required for the simplest of talisman arrays.
"Stop! I forfeit! I forfeit!" Lu Chukong evaded a powerful strike from Fu Huaizhi, then raised his hands and shouted with a smile.
Fu Huaizhi let out a cold snort and stepped off the stage. In this round, Fu Huaizhi won again.
During the halftime break, while Zhao Zhao was deep in thought about Lu Chukong's situation, the man himself approached.
"Hey! What are you thinking about, little beauty?" Lu Chukong took out another lollipop from somewhere and stuck it in his mouth. He greeted Zhao Zhao in a slacker - like manner.
Before Zhao Zhao could say anything, Song Yao spoke up first.
"Don't be so familiar. Stay away!" Song Yao's words were blunt as she told Lu Chukong to leave. After only two meetings, Lu Chukong had become a reckless, glib and unreliable hooligan in her eyes.
Lu Chukong pointed at Song Yao with a pained look on his face. "Hey, Miss Song, that's not very nice of you, is it? I did help you guys a bit at the Tianbao Pavilion that day!"
Song Yao didn't want to pay him any attention. The way he called Zhao Zhao "little beauty" as soon as he came over made him seem untrustworthy.
While they were facing off, Zhao Zhao had quietly returned after drawing the lots. This time, she finally got to compete against Fu Huaizhi as she'd hoped.
Song Yao was extremely confident in Zhao Zhao now. Seeing the result, she didn't react much. She just patted Zhao Zhao on the shoulder and instructed, "Go easy on him. Don't kill him."
Zhao Zhao nodded obediently. "Okay."
"Hey, come on, you two sisters are way too confident, aren't you?" Lu Chukong standing nearby couldn't help but laugh.
Song Yao rolled her eyes at him. "None of your business."
Zhao Zhao's eyes fell on Lu Chukong. After hesitating for a long time, she finally voiced her doubts. "Why did you forfeit just now? You could clearly beat Fu Huaizhi."
Yes, in Zhao Zhao's opinion, Lu Chukong should be able to defeat Fu Huaizhi. Although he had been dodging and his body seemed very weak, Zhao Zhao could tell that Lu Chukong wasn't using his full strength.
Lu Chukong was stunned. He didn't expect to be seen through by a little girl.
He crunched the lollipop in his mouth a few times. With his cheeks puffed out, he asked Zhao Zhao, "The elders on the viewing stand didn't notice. How did you figure it out?"
Zhao Zhao said seriously, "Because I saw the runes on the back of your clothes."
Lu Chukong instinctively reached back to touch. Then he suddenly laughed. "You're quite good. You even recognize this."
Song Yao was completely confused. She held back the urge to hit the two of them and gritted her teeth. "Speak in plain English!"
Zhao Zhao patiently explained it to Song Yao.
It turned out that the rune on Lu Chukong's back was called the "Twin - Heart Gu", a secret technique passed down in ancient Southern Xinjiang.
The human body has limited endurance. In ancient Southern Xinjiang, people raised demonic beasts. They cultivated these beasts to help them obtain the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and improve their cultivation. Then they used the Twin - Heart Gu to control the beasts and temporarily transfer the demonic power from the beasts to humans. This way, all the people in Southern Xinjiang, regardless of their talent, could use the spiritual power of heaven and earth.
However, the Southern Xinjiang tribe was almost extinct. There were only a few vague sentences about this secret technique in the books given to Zhao Zhao by her master. How did Lu Chukong know about it?
"Are you a descendant of Southern Xinjiang?" Zhao Zhao asked.
Lu Chukong waved his hand. "I'm not. I'm an orphan. All this was taught to me by the Taoist priest who adopted me. Maybe he was a descendant. Well, since you know about the Twin - Heart Gu, you can probably understand. The connection time between me and the demonic beast that lent me its power is up. If I didn't forfeit, I'd just be waiting to get beaten up."
Zhao Zhao nodded in understanding.
"Alright, the competition is starting. Little beauty, fight well against that Fu Huaizhi. Remember to keep an eye on his left hand. This guy is not honest. I'll be leaving now."
Seeing that Fu Huaizhi had already stepped onto the arena, Zhao Zhao quickly trotted up.
Lu Chukong looked at the two people on the stage, curled his lips, and turned to leave. But he was suddenly grabbed by the back of his collar by Song Yao behind him. He almost choked.
"Wait," Song Yao grabbed the hood of Lu Chukong's sweatshirt. Her tone was full of suspicion. "You showed up so suddenly and even helped us. You reminded Zhao Zhao to watch out for Fu Huaizhi's left hand. What's your purpose?"
Lu Chukong turned around and showed his standard eight - tooth smile. "Hehe, can't I just think you're beautiful, Miss?"
"You! Lecher! Get out of here!" Song Yao couldn't bear it any longer and kicked the guy. Then she turned her attention to the arena.
Lu Chukong shrugged indifferently and sauntered away.
Zhao Zhao held the spiritual sword, which didn't quite suit her. Without a single word of nonsense, she pointed the tip of the sword directly at Fu Huaizhi.
Fu Huaizhi didn't look as relaxed as in previous rounds. His face was solemn. He said, "It's not too late for you to forfeit now."
Zhao Zhao frowned and complained, "You talk too much. Hurry up." Then she leaped into the air with her sword.
This strike showed no mercy. With the momentum of defeating the enemy in one move, the sword qi forced Fu Huaizhi back several meters.
Elder Huang on the viewing stand stroked his beard. His eyes were full of meaning.
It was obvious to anyone with eyes that Zhao Zhao hadn't learned any swordsmanship. The great power of her spiritual sword came entirely from her spiritual power. Such a good talent must be kept in the Xuanmen.
On the stage, Fu Huaizhi couldn't even withstand one strike from Zhao Zhao. Hearing the sighs from the audience, Fu Huaizhi's face turned ashen with anger.
Was he really no match for this little girl?
No, he wasn't willing to accept this.
Looking at Zhao Zhao who was about to retract her sword and step off the stage, Fu Huaizhi suddenly leaped into the air. He pointed his sword at Zhao Zhao's heart.
Zhao Zhao reacted quickly. She twisted her wrist and blocked Fu Huaizhi's killing blow.
However, Fu Huaizhi showed a ferocious smile. He raised his left hand and tried to grab Zhao Zhao's neck. Remembering Lu Chukong's words, Zhao Zhao instinctively flipped the sword and stabbed at Fu Huaizhi's left hand. But Fu Huaizhi didn't dodge. He directly grabbed Zhao Zhao's sword.
A strange black - green substance climbed up Zhao Zhao's sword and onto her right hand.
The moment Zhao Zhao's right hand came into contact with that substance, it was covered in terrifying black - green veins. Her hand instantly lost all sensation, and she suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
All this happened so fast that no one had time to react. They only saw Zhao Zhao sway and fall.
A figure flew through the air. Su Yuan caught Zhao Zhao and held her in his arms.
The cloudless sky suddenly became overcast. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed. Su Yuan's eyes fell on Fu Huaizhi. He looked at him as if he were already a dead man.